Unlike their star elven and dawn elven brethren, Irith'elal (green elves) divide their society according to a tribal social structure. Which tribe an Irith'elil (singular; elvish for "one of the wild") belongs to is determined by where that Irith'elil hails from.

Briefly, here are a list of tribes common to Western Telluria and their home regions:

This supplement will provide details on the Ea'rhimm tribe which inhabits the western half of Loring's Wood.

Culture

The Ea'rhimm are a tribe of lorespeakers, sages and scribes. In times gone by the tribe were best known for gathering, spreading, teaching and recording knowledge on all sorts of subjects. The illuminated manuscripts of the E'dosía were said to be beyond compare, and their scribes were masters of their art, which seems fitting as the Ea'rhimm sage Mirathael collected all the runic symbols during the Second Age, and the tribe's scholars were much involved with the creation of a dictionary of runes.

During the Invoked Devastation, the elves lost much of their passion for gathering and spreading information. However, much of the information they collected was kept in circulation by oral tradition. The Ea'rhimm therefore still go through a very thorough education. On average, an elf of the Ea'rhimm tribe who comes of age can speak all major languages of Telluria (though elves do tend to struggle with dwarven and orcish pronounciations) and are well versed in basic botany, healing and woodlore.

The Ea'rhimm were the first tribe to make and use soap, an idea that quickly spread, happily, to neighbouring human settlements. They are also the most civilized of all green elven tribes, in that they have veered away from their nomadic roots and have become closer in nature to their more settled elven brethren.

Ea'rhimm are known for their straight talking. Their dialect has essential done away with certain unnecessary niceties. For example the word for "please" is seldom used in converation. It is simply assumed in a request. Neither are there seperate turns of phrases to say "hello" that imply either respect or familiarity. Such divisions are unnecessary. Respect is implied far more effectively by actions than by words. Ea'rhimm are noted for their lack of diplomacy. Ea'rhimm tend to say exactly what they think and are noted for being brutally honest.

Housing

Traditionally, Ea'rhimm dwell in natural clearings in the forest, in structures known as arborá. Arborá can house as many as three extended families but are usually used for no more than one. Many such arborá exist in the forest, but not all are occupied. Within each enclosure small quantities of crops or vegetables can be grown. Villages may contain a number of arborá, large roundhouses known as ánfeáth, a number of small timber storage houses and usually a building housing a large oven used for firing pottery or baking.

Both arborá and ánfeáth are constructed in such a way that the structures demonstrate a oneness with nature, a quality that very few human-crafted structures achieve. In ancient times, Ea'rhimm could shape stone and wood as desired by spellsinging. However this magickal art has been lost in the centuries since the Invoked Devastation. Ea'rhimm have since resorted to more traditional methods of construction.

Clothing

Ea'rhimm clothing usually consists of leather and/or cotton dyed in greens and browns to hide them in the treetops. It is not uncommon for sages, scribes and lorespeakers to wear white or neutral colored clothing as a sign of their position within the community.

Diet

Bread is an important part of any meal, and was made from wheat and barley ground down into flour using a quern-stone. The grain grown in an enclosure is also made into a kind of porridge and fermented to make beer. Other than cereal grains, Ea'rhimm take from nature around them and that edible berries, leaves, flowers, nuts and roots would have supplemented the diet. Certain types of root vegetables are grown. Animals are also reared in larger enclosures. Dairy products are also available, as is beeswax and wild honey.

Occupation

At present, about 20% of all children are raised to be caregivers for the land (farmers, fishermen, hunters), 40% are trained as protectors of the Wood, 25% are trained in the arts of magic and its understanding, and the remaining 15% are trained for various other skills. It must be noted that prior to the Invoked Devastation, the numbers of bards, scribes and knowledge gatherers were far higher than any other class.

Government

Ea'rhimm are matriarchal and hierarchal. The tribe has a strictly organized and hereditary monarchy. However, the heir is always female, and in days gone by great efforts were made to conceal a first born that was not female. In modern times, a male firstborn is simply passed over in line to the throne.

The tribe is not overly numerous, and quite closely interrelated in most cases, so the term monarchy might not be quite correct. The Iri'thón gives the orders, has power over the tribe's warriors and makes the decisions that affect the whole tribe, but the term "monarch" implies regality - and there is little regal about an Iri'thón. Usually she is cousin four times removed to even the lowest of the elves, so while she wields respect and power most of the time, there are few of the perks associated with being a monarch in human terms.